UPPA's 2nd forum on energy, environmental and societal transitions, which took place from November 22 to 24, 2023, attracted up to 320 people in Anglet (day 2) and 200 in Pau (days 1 and 3). The event is an opportunity to present the breadth of UPPA's research to students, staff and industrial partners.
Each half-day, devoted to one of the 5 interdisciplinary missions that make up the establishment's scientific signature, also provided an opportunity to put a face to the names of the mission leaders officially appointed at the start of the year:
• Organise energy subsidiarity at the territorial scale - Stéphanie Dechézelles (TREE) and David Grégoire (LFCR) | Energy law | Energy efficiency, sobriety and energy poverty | Hydrogen, biogas and new energies | Materials for energy storage | Subsurface, a common good | Territorialisation, mobilisation and politicisation of energy
• Question borders and meet the challenge of differences - Damien Connil (DICE-IE2IA) and Joana Etchart (ALTER) | Otherness and identity | Borders: representations and cooperation | Hybridisation, comparison and circulation | Heritage, traces and commons | Multilingualism and interculturality | The Basque language
• Adapt coastal, forest and mountain ecosystems to make them more resilient - Christine Bouisset (TREE) and Matthias Vignon (ECOBIOP) | Climate impact on freshwater ecosystems | Impact of environmental change on coastal zones | Micro- and nano-plastics in marine and coastal environments | Pollutants and contaminants, including emerging ones | Environmental monitoring (sensors, bio-indicators, statistical modelling)
• Represent and build territories of the future - Sandrine Cueille-Renucci (LIREM) - Céline Perlot-Bascoulès (SIAME) | Adapt regions to environmental change | Low-carbon construction | Autonomous housing, adapting habitats and urban environments | New collective and individual behaviours | New societal and regulatory issues
• Concile development, a safe environment and preserved biodiversity - Maud Save (IPREM) and Karine Brugirard-Ricaud (NUMEA) | Aquaculture and nutrition | Carbon capture and geological storage | Eco-processes | Bio-inspired materials | Food safety
The forum opened with a talk by Jean-Claude Duplessy, a geochemist specialising in the oceans, emeritus Director of research at CNRS French National Research Center and a member of the French Academy of Sciences, author of the book Turmoil on the Planet in 1990 and contributor to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change report on climate change in 2001. The scientist discussed a number of environmental problems associated with our current lifestyles and energy needs, drawing up a realistic assessment of the current situation, outlining possible solutions, and concluding with the major research effort that will be required “to avoid turbulence.”
The strong student attendance (250 students in Anglet on Thursday, 100 and 150 in Pau on Wednesday and Friday respectively) was remarkable. The collaborative workshops on Thursday were a great success, and the discussions could have gone on for a long time...
The wide variety of subjects presented and the didactic efforts of the speakers enabled everyone to grasp the breadth of research issues addressed by UPPA laboratories as they serve the UPPA’s 5 interdisciplinary missions as well as society.
